ALA Booklist (Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2020)

The nostalgic beauty and uniqueness of New York neighborhoods comes to life in this lush, vibrant book by Yamasaki and Lendler, with muralist and author Yamasaki complementing the poignant message with delightful and memorable illustrations. Naomi lives on bustling, multicultural 11th Street, which is undergoing gentrification and transformation before its longtime residents' very eyes. As Naomi and her family mourn these changes and their loves ones leave their community, businesses, and residences, she learns that home is about the who rather than the where. Naomi and her friends channel their grief and sadness into hope by beautifying the neighborhood with a personalized mural that showcases everything they loved about 11th Street, and Naomi takes this passion for public art with her when her own time comes to leave. Readers will be struck by the tear-jerking text and images in this book as Naomi witnesses both the upsetting and uplifting effects of change and experiences the power of positive memories.

Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2021)

Naomi lives on busy, bustling 11th Street -- "It wasn't pretty but it was alive!" -- where she and her best friend Ada love to play. One day, they wake to discover a beloved tree on 11th Street has been cut down and that many buildings are slated for demolition, including the one where Ada lives -- all to make way for "luxury living." As a way to say goodbye, Mister Ray (whose car-repair shop is also to be shuttered) and Naomi begin to paint fond memories of their neighborhood on the exterior walls of the buildings. It becomes a sprawling mural, but soon that too is torn down, with Naomi keeping a piece of painted brick for posterity. This story is grounded in the details of the community Naomi loves, such as the corner bodega; "$1 wash!"; and the "never-ending hum of cars." Yamasaki, herself a muralist, paints these details into vivid tableaux of a diverse community and its particularities, illustrations that invite close inspection. Visual hyperbole is used to emphasize Naomi's emotions, such as the moment she hugs Ada goodbye and long streams of tears fall from her eyes, creating puddles at their feet. "Things change," Lendler and Yamasaki remind readers more than once, but love and memories are what Naomi carries with her to a new home. This tender tale, about the effects of gentrification, is one many city-dwelling children will know well.

Kirkus Reviews

A community archive is preserved in a unique mural.Community sits at the heart of Naomi's life-evidenced by the city panorama on the title spread. Naomi, a beige-skinned young girl with straight brown hair and a big smile, pokes her head out the window to see her world, full of bustle and life. Cars, bicycles, and buses rush by, past the hair salon, the mechanic, the pizzeria. A ribbon of musical notes swirls around Naomi and her busy block, denoting the noisy joy of urban life. With her best friend, Ada, a Black girl, Naomi climbs a tree, rides scooters along the block, and draws pictures in sidewalk chalk. At dusk, Naomi and her family say goodnight to the lively neighborhood. All seems well until Naomi's world begins to change. The tree is cut down, Ada moves away, and stores begin to shut-falling victim to gentrification and urban renewal. With help from her shopkeeper friend Mr. Ray, a Black man, Naomi paints what she loves most about her neighborhood in a mural on her building. Little by little, though her world has altered, her mural grows until at last her community is preserved in vivid colors. Yamasaki and Lendler's straightforward yet poignant text nicely complements Yamasaki's whimsical yet grounded illustrations that depict this portrait of urban connection. Her bright, bold palette is eye-catching, with carefully portrayed diverse neighbors, young and old. Naomi's home-its sights, smells, sounds, and interactions-is forever a place of love. (Picture book. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Naomi, a tan-skinned girl with brown hair, loves her busy, vibrant block, with its -honking, blaring, booming cars,/ and the corner bodega.- One morning, she discovers that the sidewalk tree in whose shade she and her friend Ada, a Black girl, play has been cut down. -They-re building something new,- says Naomi-s mom. -Something fancy,- says her dad. Mister Ray from the auto body shop helps Naomi mourn: -Where I grew up/ when something we love goes away/ we paint it on the wall/ so it-s always with us,- he says. He renders her beloved tree on the building-s side, and, when Ada-s building is scheduled for demolition and her family must move away, they paint Ada there, too. Yamasaki and Landler convey the loss of a living, breathing community beset by gentrification. Muralist Yamasaki paints in a distinctive folk-art style crowded with pigeons, ribbons of music, and an inclusive array of city dwellers. Together with Lendler, she champions the power of ordinary people to preserve what-s lost through art. Ages 6-8. (Sept.)